LBJ Presidential Library has much more to offer

1of2A new theater plays an introduction film for visitors on the third floor of the LBJ Presidential Library.Photo: JAY JANNER, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN

2of2Lyndon Johnson's recorded telephone calls are incorporated into new exhibits about his presidency on the fourth floor of the library.Photo: Austin American-Statesman

This week, a major Austin institution will attempt to reshape American history. The rebranded and updated LBJ Presidential Library will open its $11 million high-tech permanent exhibit — three years in the making — to the public at 10 a.m. Saturday.

“It takes at least a generation for us to get an objective view of a president and his times,” said library Director Mark Updegrove, a presidential historian and former media executive. “For LBJ it took longer because passions around Vietnam ran so deep. We are now to a point where the long shadow of Vietnam is beginning to recede from LBJ's legacy. People are beginning to appreciate the prodigious accomplishments of LBJ.”

The only presidential library that cost nothing to visit will begin charging admission — topping out at $8 for most adults — to pay for the exhibit, though opening day will be free. The project was also backed by large gifts from former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby and Austin benefactor Ann Butler as well as LBJ's daughters, Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Johnson Robb.

Incorporating hundreds of photographs, films, audio recordings, interactive flat screens and assorted ephemera, the new exhibit is stacked on three floors of the 10-story complex. Telephone handsets throughout the exhibit let visitors hear LBJ conversing with other leaders on public issues from the 1960s.

“What makes the LBJ Library distinct is the rich collections of audiotapes of LBJ's conversations in the Oval Office,” exhibit design team leader Patrick Gallagher said. “It allows us to tell the story through his voice and emotions. I don't think there is another library out there that could make that claim.”

The complicated exhibit evolved through the sustained efforts of historians, artists, technicians, fundraisers and behind-the-scenes power brokers.

The LBJ Library renovation “is the perfect example of a truly dynamic revolution,” said Susan Donius, national director of the Office of Presidential Libraries. “And what can be accomplished when so many come together with a common cause.”

While not ignoring the controversies of LBJ's presidency, the displays build a case for Johnson's ongoing impact on American life. One elaborate display lets visitors trace how the president's initiatives affect the individual visitor today.

“I don't think many people realize the profound impact LBJ has on their lives,” design leader Gallagher said. “I also believe they will come away with a very different understanding of the events of the Vietnam War. They will see the deeply emotional and personal struggles of LBJ.”

The idea for revamping the library's primary public attraction came early in Updegrove's tenure. In 2009, he discussed the idea with Larry Temple, chairman of the LBJ Foundation, which helps fund the library along with the LBJ School of Public Affairs.

Updegrove, whose book “Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency” was released in March, had done research in all the U.S. presidential libraries. He later visited the country's newest historical museums and renovations to get a sense of what could be done here.

“I think this is our best historical exhibit in the United States,” he said. “That sounds like a Texas brag. But we had a very clear vision that came from what Johnson wanted: a balanced look at his presidency.”

Historians and designers agreed that the exhibit needed a transparent narrative.

“You always need to think about the young student who walks in today and says, 'What does this story and this presidency have to do with me?'” Gallagher said. “What is the contemporary context of how this complex story affects my life today?”

Library officials estimate that more than 100,000 people visit the museum annually. They expect that number to increase by one-third after the new exhibit opens.

The LBJ planners leaned heavily on historians such as Robert Dallek and Michael Beschloss, who have reminded the public about LBJ's influence on civil rights, Medicare, education, immigration, ecology, poverty and the arts. Other prominent historians — Douglas Brinkley, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Robert Caro, for instance — joined them in video clips that are part of the exhibit.

Special attention is paid to the long and traumatic battle for civil rights and voting rights.

“There's no president since Abraham Lincoln that comes close to the achievements of LBJ on civil rights,” historian Goodwin says in the exhibit.

Beschloss suggested the library address LBJ's faith. One display relates how the president bore the burden of office partly by attending several Sunday services at different churches. As LBJ explained to his daughter Luci, “When you're in this position, you need all the help you can get.”

Among the most common historical misperceptions, according to Updegrove: LBJ simply completed things the assassinated JFK would have done, including the crucial Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“He took that and other causes far further than others imagined,” Updegrove said. “LBJ had a knack for it.”

Given the historical lessons featured in the new exhibit, what might LBJ think of the current federal budget negotiations, which could significantly alter his achievements?

“It's important to know LBJ saw the law as chalk on a blackboard,” Updegrove said. “Not something that was etched in cement. He saw something that needed to be done at the time, not something that would remain on the books forever.”